Cutting behavior seems to be found most often among women, partly because men are more likely to express strong feelings outwardly and vent their aggression towards other people or inanimate objects.

According to one study, it was noted that the majority of injurers were female because women are not socialized to express violence externally (Miller, 1994). When confronted with the vast rage many self-injurers feel, women tend to turn their hurt and pain inward upon themselves. On the other hand, men are more likely to react the opposite way and act out. Perhaps another reason fewer men are cutters is that men are socialized in a way that makes repressing feelings the norm.

Studies have shown that many people who self-injure have a history of sexual or physical abuse, but this is not always the case. There are many different backgrounds and life-stories from others that come from broken homes, alcoholic environments, emotionally absent parents, and other difficult situations.

COMMON PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS FOUND IN SELF-INJURERS

• Lack ability to express emotions verbally. (Have a tendency to “stuff” their problems.)
• Lack ability to handle intense feelings. (“Intense feelings” overwhelm them and only leads them to confusion—“I don’t know what to do!”—and isolation, especially if they lack communication skills.)
• Perfectionism. (They feel pressure to live up to high standards, which often times are unrealistic and unobtainable, so they continuously feel like they are “failing” and will try harder and harder to no avail.)
• Tend to experience severe mood swings. (One day they are “happy”, other days they feel “extremely low.”)
• A dislike for themselves and their bodies. (They do not like what they see in the mirror. No matter how good they are, they continue to pick out their flaws.)

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

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